Sonic the Hedgehog #171 (Mar 2007) Yardley!/Amash/Jensen cover: Sonic arrives in the nick of time to save ... Eggman? His assailant is Shadow, who's grabbed a handful of Eggman's belly (which is a pretty easy grab in any event.) "I Am" Story: Ian Flynn; Art: Tracy Yardley!; Ink: Jim Amash, Color: Jason Jensen; Lettering: John E. Workman; Editor: Mike Pellerito; Managing Editor: Victor Gorelick; Editor-in-Chief: Richard Goldwater We now return to Shadow on the verge of beating up Eggman, but now looking more bored than he did on the cover. He also has Snively ... I was going to say "by the short hairs" but he's got him by the only hairs he has, and he's going to turn Snively into a total chrome dome if he isn't told the location of the diary of Gerald Robotnik. The Sniveler rats out and gets his head hairs (all six of them) yanked out anyway just because, well, because Shadow's that kind of a guy. He finds the diary on a CD-ROM in a gutted book and decides to head to Knothole to check it out. We then get a page of Ian setting up the Tails-Fiona plot point, which WILL be resolved in S172. I'm sorry that this review has taken so long to produce that I'm already an issue behind, but circumstances at work, including having my office moved, and writing the 2006 Best/Worst List delayed the writing of this review. After flying out of the room in order to throw a fit over the state of his non-existent love life, Tails reports back that Shadow is headed toward them with various Eggcraft on his tail, but being Eggcraft they're easily dispatched. Shadow then appeals for help in reading the CD diary. Unfortunately, the CD is damaged enough that the data is corrupted, but Shadow isn't taking "No" for an answer. Nicole, who now seems to have moved into the Knothole mainframe where there's more closet space, suggests Shadow personally interface with the data. Sonic goes along because it's his comic book, but he never comes right out and says that. Sonic and Shadow find themselves inside the diary's memory, with Neo-Nicole from "Stargazing" playing Beatrice to their collective Dante (do yourselves a favor, look it up). Because the data is full of holes represented by white space in the panels, Shadow wants them to shake it, but then he runs into... Back in the real world (OK, maybe not the best choice of words when talking about a comic book continuity), Tails and Knuckles realize that Snively has put out a DNA trace on his hair follicles. OK, the only thing weirder than that is why Shadow even brought them with him to Knothole, but it sure helped the plot. Snively shows up driving a ... well, I'll let Snively say his line: "I have an Egg Lobster and I know how to use it!" which is definitely in the running for Best Line of Dialogue for 2007. Back down the computer rabbit hole Shadow is having a Dante-Beatrice moment himself, having been reunited with Maria who, the last time he saw her, was being killed by G.U.N. agents. However, this isn't the real Maria but an incredible simulation, which is to say the version resident in the diary. Sort of like how the Tom Riddle who lived in the diary in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" wasn't the real Tom Riddle who grew up to be Voldemort, but anyway. Upon hearing that fifty years have elapsed, she refers the case to Dr. Gerald Robotnik. Unfortunately, his method of bringing Shadow up to speed involves supplying a page worth of exposition lifted from the Shadow the Hedgehog game manual. Initially created as the source of a cure for Maria's NIDS (neuro-immuno-deficiency syndrome), Gerald compromised his research through a contract with the alien Black Doom. "He (B.D.) helped me create you (Shadow) ... the ultimate lifeform...." He does NOT confess that he did so by including some of Blackie's DNA in Shadow's mix, but maybe we should have guessed that from Shadow's coloration. Robotnik also hints that the Black Arms should be attacking Mobius any time now, but doesn't know that at the moment they're busy turning the Xorda into intergalactic calamari. Shadow is assured that he has been created as a savior of Mobius. But the place is really starting to fall apart so they have to split. Shadow does so reluctantly after Maria all but quotes E.T.'s exit line "I'll be right here." At least he gets the chance to have closure by saying good-bye to her. Tails quickly brings the two hedgehogs up to speed on the Egg Lobster situation. Shadow takes the hairs, cuts the mechanical mudbug down to size (it does look more like a crawdad than a lobster to me), and throws Snively's locks back in his face as his way of resigning from Eggman's service. And so we have no more excuse to avoid the Fiona question ... but we still have to wait a month. HEAD: When I named Tania del Rio's "Stargazing" (S151) as Best Single Issue Story, I did so because for the first time since I can't remember when the comic actually included an element of wonder. In that case, it was having a computer operating system personified. In the case of "I Am," the traffic goes the other way: Sonic and Shadow wade into a collection of data. What they find is a direct quotation from Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow's flashbacks. But Ian gives us a version where life, for want of a better word, goes on and Gerald and Maria are still conscious. More importantly, they can interact with Shadow and Sonic. There is a HUGE difference between this story and some others that have appeared in this comic. In a story like S159's "Insidious," the characters just say their lines; they're acting. In the "Line of Succession" arc, they were OVERacting. But here they're INTERacting. Gerald and Maria are personalities in their own right, as is the underutilized Neo-Nicole. Aside from the one page where Gerald gives us a lengthy exposition about Black Doom, this story is character- driven. Even in the subplot where Snively claims what's left of his locks. Ian still delivers on the action, even in the bizarre form of the Egg Lobster, which works in a so-bad-it's-good kind of way. But the story is balanced out by the journey into the CD diary. That sets this story apart from Ian's previous work, and while it's a tough act to follow it finally delivers on the promise that this comic can transcend its past and even improve upon it. Head Score: 10. EYE: There are a lot of aspects of the art in this story that demand attention: the white spaces in the diary world, the Egg Lobster (which actually looks more convincing than some of Eggman's other machines). Some of Tracy Yardley!'s expressions could have used some tweaking. But in the end, I keep coming back to Tracy's depiction of Maria hanging onto her grandfather's arm. I don't know if that pose ever would have occurred to Ron Lim, Ken Penders, or any of the other Sonic artists. It's the visual equivalent of what I said before about character interaction instead of just plain action, and it totally won me over. Eye Score: 10. HEART: Even though we were cheated by the cutaway to the Egg Lobster when Shadow was reunited with Maria, their parting is one of the most heartfelt moments this comic has known in years. I can only compare it to Julayla's deathbed scene in S18's "In The Still Of The Night." Until now that had been my touchstone for Heart in this comic. This is just as amazing: even as Maria is herself fragmenting along with the diary world, there is the unspoken sense that this is Shadow's last chance to be with her. And he has no intention of leaving at first. But instead, it becomes his opportunity to say good-bye. Like I said, he gets his chance at closure. It doesn't turn him into a pussycat by any means, but you get the feeling he's not the same character he was at the beginning. That's what Heart can do for a story: take the characters beyond where they were and change them in some fundamental way. The trick, of course, is not to make the change seem arbitrary or inconsistent with what's gone before. And it's CERTAINLY not to throw the character into a death cheat situation. A small but amazing moment. Heart Score: 10. "Enforcers" Story: Ian Flynn; Art: Tracy Yardley!; Ink: Terry Austin; Color: Jason Jensen; Lettering: John E. Workman Meanwhile, back on Angel Island, the Dingoes are re- enacting the scene from the begging of "An American Tail" where the Cossacks burn down the houses of the Jews in the village; the part of the Jews is played by the echidnas. At this point the Hapless Half-Dozen, aka the Destructix, show up and get in the face of the dingoes. When Locke conveniently wonders out loud why, Dr. Finn shows up and we slip into exposition mode, with the Head of Dimitri singing back-up. Doc Fin offers to help defend the Angel Island echidnas, and offers Locke a warp ring so he can continue his search for the Brotherhood. As Locke heads through the ring to continue the search (or, from the look of things, to put in some beach time in Miami) we discover (surprise, surprise) that Dr. Fin's been playing Locke. Seems Fin has his own agenda: getting rid of the dingoes, reuniting the Dark Legion (in time for S175 I'll bet), and most important for a portion of the fan base, bringing back Dimitri as Enerjak. HEAD: This is the set-up; the payoff will probably happen in issue #175. I've gotten used to the fact that comic writers and artists are big on celebrating certain numerical milestones. I think it's a royal pain to impose that kind of outside rhythm on a continuity, but that's the business. This is pretty classic Ken Penders stuff, only more up- front. We had to wait, for instance, for the last page of the last installment of the Dark Alliance arc (Knuckles #22-24) before Ken tipped his hand about what was happening in THAT one. Here, Ian lets us know early on that there's more than just the obvious going on. This isn't a bad thing, and can add to the suspense factor of a story. What is suspense? Think of the motion picture "Speed," where a booby-trapped bus will explode the moment it goes slower than 55 miles per hour. It's suspenseful right up to the point when the people on the bus find out about the bomb. As long as we know what the dangers is and they don't have a clue THAT'S suspense. And that's what makes us revisit the "happy" scene where the Destructix vanquish the dingoes. None of the echidnas appreciates the possibility that they might just have been relocated from the frying pan to the fire. Except for Locke, and he's been momentarily written out of the story. I can't say any more about the writing at this point; I've seen too many decent set-ups fail catastrophically when it come to the payoff. But Ian definitely has my attention. Head Score: 8. EYE: I still think Jonathan Gray's design for Dr. Fin makes him look like a 1930s "Flash Gordon" character; then again, that may be what he had in mind. Anyway, Tracy Yardley! doesn't mess with it, or Locke's Ragnarok-inspired wardrobe. And I have to say I like the red-and-black dingo uniforms. Moreso than in "I Am," where Yardley! usually ended up drawing a small cluster of characters at the center of the panel, he gets to cut loose on a number of "wide-angle" shots here: the WEV attack scene that opens the story and the top panel on the second page where Locke watches the Destructix mix it up with the dingoes. I also liked the rain effect that begins halfway through the story. I hope he remembers to open up the action more often; that way it seems more like a motion picture and less like (in the words of one manga artist describing Western comics) actors on a stage. Eye Score: 10. HEART: In what would otherwise be a straightforward action story, there's one interesting Heart moment. Locke hesitates to take Dr. Fin up on his offer to use a Warp Ring to look for the Brotherhood until the Doc, knowing exactly what button to push, suggests a father-son reunion. Locke nixes the idea and decides to head for the jungle. You have to go back a ways to the Return To Angel Island arc of 2004 to understand why the two are on the outs. At the end of that one (S141, to be precise), Knuckles and Locke part ways on bad terms when Knux decided to abandon Angel Island and the Guardian's post while he went to Knothole. That meant Locke had to come out of retirement with a vast reluctance. Obviously he's not over it yet. Even though it happened 2.5 years ago, there's no text box to point the reader backwards to RTAI. Personally, I think it's a good thing. It would have cluttered up Tracy Yardley!'s artwork. It also shows that the comic doesn't have to hold the readers' hand ALL the time and point out EVERY retro plot point that comes along. On a more fundamental level, though, it's interesting that Ian goes with the Bad Blood Between Father and Son plot point. As much as Sonic's love-life, this is a pervading emotional lynch-pin in the story and in this case Dr. Fin's exploitation of it is not out of place. There's no knowing who's finally going to bend on this or when, but I can only hope that Ian doesn't move for a quick-and-easy reconciliation between the two. They're going to have to EARN that death scene of Locke's in "Father's Day" (S143). Heart Score: 8.